Deardorff Family Farms To Host The Tour de Fresh

Oxnard, CA – Deardorff Family Farms will host a breakfast and present a salad bar to the Conejo Valley School District at a ceremony on October 15, 2014. The event will host both riders and donors involved in the inaugural Tour de Fresh – a 275-mile cycling event down the coast of California to raise funds and awareness for the Salad Bars to Schools campaign. The Salad Bar to Schools effort is a major focus of First Lady Michelle Obama and her Let's Move program. The breakfast will feature local produce prepared by Chef Tim Kilcoyne from Scratch.

The Tour de Fresh is a first of its kind four-day cycling event that brings together farmers and produce companies who compete in the marketplace everyday for a common cause of improving childhood nutrition. Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. In addition, school age children are lagging behind other industrial nations in test scores for math, science, and reading. A commission of retired Generals, Admirals, and other senior leaders of the United States Armed Forces has also concluded that obesity is the leading cause of disqualification for military service. They entitled the report Still Too Fat To Fight.

Unfortunately, many school districts do not have the funds to make the necessary changes to help combat obesity and improve childhood nutrition. That is where the inaugural Tour de Fresh comes in. The goal of the Tour de Fresh, and its participants, is to raise $120,000 to privately finance 40 new salad bars in school districts across the country. On

October 15, Deardorff Family Farms will donate one of these salad bars to the Conejo Valley School District. Representatives from both organizations and the local farming community will be on hand for the presentation. Later that day, the Tour de Fresh will take off from Oxnard and head for its next stop – Santa Monica.

Deardorff Family Farms is a fourth generation family farming company located in Oxnard, California. They are a major sponsor of the Tour de Fresh, and owners Tom and Scott Deardorff are also riding in the event. Deardorff Family Farms has been in business since 1937 and has long supported child related charities. The company grows, packs, and ships both organic and sustainable produce.

Source: Deardorff Family Farms